Halloween (novel)
Halloween is a 1979 novelization by Curtis Richards of the horror film Halloween (1978) which has been out of print since the late 1980s. The novel elaborates on aspects not featured in the film such as the origins of the curse of Samhain and Michael Myers's life in Smith's Grove Sanitarium. Plot "The horror started on the eve of Samhain, in a foggy vale in northern Ireland, at the dawn of the Celtic race. And once started, it trod the earth forevermore, wreaking its savagery suddenly, swiftly, and with incredible ferocity". The prologue of the novel takes place at the dawn of the Celtic race in Ireland and tells the story of a young 15-year-old disfigured boy named Enda who is passionately in love with the King Gwynwyll's daughter, Deirdre. After being severely humiliated for attempting to win her love Enda attacks and brutally slays Deirdre and her fiancé at a community ritual event on Halloween. Enda is immediately killed by the other members of the village and his soul cursed to wander the Earth forever, re-creating the events of that night. Curtis Richards, Halloween (Bantam Books, 1979), ISBN 0-553-13226-1; 5th printing, pp 1-6. In Chapter 1 we flash forward to 1963 and witness several eerie interactions between little Michael Myers and his grandmother. The grandmother is concerned as her daughter, Edith, tells her that Michael has been admitting to hearing voices and having visions and nightmares (which are about the events that happened in the prologue with Enda and Deirdre). When Edith tells the grandmother that she had asked Michael about the voices, he replied, " They tell me to say I hate people". There is also discussion between the grandmother and Michael's mother about Michael's great-grandfather who apparently committed some sort of undescribed violent act. "I think there are enough similarities," says the concerned grandmother. Curtis Richards, Halloween (Bantam Books, 1979), ISBN 0-553-13226-1; 5th printing, pp 7-12. Chapter 2 details Michael's experiences further. It is Halloween night 1963 and Michael, dressed in the infamous clown costume, is trick-or-treating with some neighborhood children. At some point during his trick-or-treating, he and the other children knock on the Myers home door hoping to receive some goodies. His sister Judy, opens the door and asks "what are you going to do if I don't give you anything?" to which Michael replies "we're going to kill you". Shocked, Judy responds "who said that? Michael Myers--was that you?". Michael replies "I'm not Michael Myers. I'm a clown", already hinting at the transformation that has taken place. Curtis Richards, Halloween (Bantam Books, 1979), ISBN 0-553-13226-1; 5th printing, pp 13-20. In Chapter 3, we get a look inside Michael's head. "It was the voice. the voice stirred up the hatred. It had done so in his dreams and now it was doing it in real life. It had begun with the strange pictures in his head at night, pictures of people he had never seen--oh, maybe in comic books or on television, but never in real life. People in strange costumes, animal skins, armor, leather, drinking and dancing wildly around a fire. One couple in particular. They looked like Judy and Danny, madly in love with each other, dancing in a circle around a huge bonfire while he, Michael, stood in the crowd hating them, burning up with jealousy".Curtis Richards, Halloween (Bantam Books, 1979), ISBN 0-553-13226-1; 5th printing, pp 21-35. Chapter 4 details Michael's trial and sentencing. Details of Michael's experiences at the Smith's Grove "Sanitarium" are given. A conversation between Michael and Loomis gives further insight into Michael's personality. Additionally, strange "occurrences" take place which intrigue Dr. Loomis who gradually becomes aware of what he is dealing with: "Every time Michael was slighted, or fancied he was, by a staff member or other inmate, some awful vengeance was visited upon the offending person. It might be a day, a week, a month later, but Michael got even. The problem for Loomis was that no one ever observed the boy doing it directly...a nurse who quarreled with Michael fell down the stairs two days later, fracturing her pelvis. A boy who borrowed a game from Michael and forgot to return it suffered a vicious rash that hospitalized him for a month". Michael eventually commands the ward as neither the staff nor the other inmates dare to challenge or defy Michael for fear of retribution.Curtis Richards, Halloween (Bantam Books, 1979), ISBN 0-553-13226-1; 5th printing, pp 26-36. Fifteen years later on Halloween 1978, Laurie Strode's realtor father asks her to place a key under the mat at the old Myers house so that he can show it to some prospective buyers. When Laurie places the key under the mat, unbeknownst to her, Michael is looking through a door window and sees Laurie for the first time. At that point, the reader learns that Michael targets Laurie because she reminds him of Judith. "And as she turned her back on the house, a figure inside it, dark, shadowy, sidled up to the front door and pushed the tattered curtain aside with a knuckle. He watched the slim blonde toss her head and laugh as she raised her hands like a bogeyman to frighten her young companion. He breathed heavily, raspingly, as he watched the girl, and a memory entered his mind, the memory of another girl, another blonde, willowy and pretty. He remembered the trapped and frightened look in her eyes, and the futile, pathetic way she had raised her hands to protect herself. He followed the girl and boy with his gaze until they disappeared from view. Then he walked up the creaky stairs to the second floor and peered into the room where it had all happened...Curtis Richards, Halloween (Bantam Books,1979) ISBN 0-553-13226-1; 5th Printing, pp 52-53. Sequels The series of novels spanned three more sequels. Halloween II, an adaption of the 1981 Halloween II screenplay, was written by horror and science-fiction writer Dennis Etchison under the pseudonym Jack Martin. Etchinson wrote the sequels as well. Halloween III's novel was not changed in any way to follow an alternate path of Michael Myers, and followed the movie screenplay very well. Halloween 4 was the last movie in the series to be novelized. References Category:1979 novels Category:American horror novels Novel Category:Novels based on films Category:Novels set in Northern Ireland Category:1963 in fiction